Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025

Well, I’ve been back in the garage trying to record some video content for The Shade Tree Garage YouTube channel, but its been a struggle.

My first idea was to shoot a video describing what interested me into learning (at a trade school) auto body repair and paint. After talking through what the script might cover, I found that the story was not only rather long, but also very boring. Kill that idea — and quick.

My next idea was an offshoot of the first, only this time I would only discuss my “Most Annoying Body Shop Client.” Of course, this is looking back 40 years after 4 years of working in my one-man body shop. I actually recorded this content, and on playback, sounded like one big, uninspiring whine about a picky customer and my entering into a trade-out deal that put me immediately behind the 8-ball. Didn’t take long to decide to kill that idea, too.

I tried to make a somewhat different (and shorter) version of the previous idea, and created a shorter version of this rather uninspiring, uninformative content that could be summed up in three words: “Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.”

Ho hum to the 10th power, eh?

Last week I created more uninspiring content — an 2-year review of the LED lighting in my shop. I posted it but its pretty yawn inspiring.

NEW CONTENT? TAKE ME AWAY.

We are transitioning into winter weather here in the Ohio Valley. Today – Sunday – its windy and cold, though the current temp is in the low 40s, it feels like Alaska outside to most here in the state. By next March, 40 degrees will feel like a heat wave. Go figure.

I have some (somewhat) better content ideas percolating. For example, I need to paint and clear coat the hood of my wife’s Jeep. And I have some unboxing videos I could do on some spray guns, though I didn’t really plan to test any of those guns. I guess I could use them in to paint my wife’s hood. But frankly, I’m a little hesitant to try something new while repairing her car. Screwing her paint up is not an idea that’s high on my list.

SPRAY GUN-PALOOZA???

Yeah, that’s what my garage is beginning to look like. Through purchases on Temu and Amazon, it appears I have collected at least six inexpensive Chinese spray gun kits. Some have the same or slightly different names; several I purchased not realizing they were identical to the spray gun kit I purchased 18 months ago and has been sitting unopened since.

The most common cheap spray gun kit you see is a gravity feed gun that comes equipped with at least 3 (sometimes 4) spray caps and needles. These are often sized 1.3/1.4, 1.7 and 2.0. They usually have one of three trim colors — red, blue or green. And most of these kits sell for under $40 or so on Amazon.

The truth is I haven’t used the first one of these guns; never put to the test — yet. But do I take a chance on mucking up my wife’s hood to test these things??

I have a variety of other guns — still boxed — to try, including the oft-reviewed R-500 LVLP model, the “upgraded” version of the R-500, the A-610, and some others.

Ironically, one of my go-to guns has been the green Harbor Freight guns. I’ve shot a lot of primer and sealer with it,, though no top coats. For painting trim and garnish moldings in my 55 wagon, I have a Fornax touch-up gun with a 0.8 cap and tip. I really like using that gun because it is rather slooow — it doesn’t put out a lot of material in a hurry. If you watch the surface, you can gauge how much paint or primer you have on the surface without overloading and getting a sag or run. The Fornax probably isn’t what I’ll use to paint the hood, though I may use it to build the coverage in the area where factory grey primer is shining through.

I must have the fall-to-winter blahs, because its apparent in my content that I’m somewhat less than excited to be in front of the camera. Hard to feign excitement.

I have actual work I should be doing on the Chevy that would make decent video content. The damn truth is that its just too cold to get excited about being out in the garage doing nothing.

This blah-ass period will subside in time, and I’ll be happy to go to the garage, kick on the torpedo heater and heat up the place in preparation for getting something — anything! — done.

That’s all for this entry. Back with more later!